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Changes to sex-ed curriculum raise ire of family groups

Ontario’s revamped sex ed curriculum may have some family groups hot under the collar — but the material is age-appropriate and reflects students’ lives, say sexual health experts.

Evangelist Charles McVety — a politically savvy religious leader who is close to Prime Minister Stephen Harper — who has opposed the “hostile” new curriculum all along, is organizing a May 10 protest in Toronto.

But Premier Dalton McGuinty played down McVety’s concerns on Tuesday, saying “either we can provide (this information) in a format and in a venue where we can have some control or they can get it on their own and be informed by potentially uninformed sources like their friends at school” or the Internet.

The province is rolling out a new physical health and education curriculum starting this fall — the first in 12 years — that is based on healthy living and making good choices.

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It includes discussions about relationships and respecting differences — including same-sex couples — in Grade 3. Grade 6 covers the emotional and physical changes of adolescence; teacher discussion points include talking about how wet dreams are natural, and masturbation is something people “find pleasurable.”

In Grade 7, students learn about delaying sexual activity, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and how to prevent them, including abstinence. That could spark discussion about oral sex or anal intercourse and how they too can be risky.

“This is primary prevention,” said Lyba Spring of sexual health promotion at Toronto Public Health. “When they are learning about STIs, they have to learn about transmission.”

While kids in Grade 7 aren’t likely having oral sex, by Grade 9 about one-third of Canadian teens are. “We are preparing them with information, and we are also preparing them with skills to make good decisions,” she added.

Lance McCready, of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, said “progressive educators” talk about homosexuality in terms of diverse families.

“It's not talking about sexual practices . . . it’s basically saying that it’s not right to discriminate against people based on sexual orientation or sexual identity.”

Education Minister Leona Dombrowsky emphasized that at the end of the day, parents can have the final say on what their children are learning about sex.

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